Talk:Megaera
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The authoritative “Diccionario de la Lengua española (22a. edición) de la Real Academia Española,” notes that the Spanish word for woman, mujer, is derived from the Latin “mulier” or “mulieris”, also meaning woman (Del lat. mulĭer, -ēris). Contrary to the impression given by the fanciful etymology megaera – mujer, the origin of the word “mulier” is unknown, but the word possibly may be derived from a root meaning “soft, delicate.” See http://www.sussex.ac.uk/linguistics/documents/where_do_mama2.pdf.
As detailed by Thelma Cheren in her 1971 article “Gynecology: an Etymological Note” (see http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/picrender.fcgi?artid=197651&blobtype=pdf), ”mulier” is said to come from the comparative form “mollior,” of the word “mollis,” meaning “soft” or tender” or “pliable” or “gentle.” Other words sharing this origin include “mollify” and “emollient.” The postulated root word “mol” signifies grinding down by force, at first literally and later figuratively. The literal meaning is captured in modern English words such as “meal” (ground grain), “mill” (to grind) and “molar“ (grinding tooth). Behind the root word “mol” lies an older root word, “mar,” meaning to crush, pound, or destroy, which has given us modern words as diverse as morbid, murder, Mars, and milk.
